Ocean Forests

As diverse as the land forests are, so too are the forests of the oceans, lakes and rivers.

There are the great Pacific kelp forests, the deeper kelp beds, sea-grass and seaweed beds, algae clouds of phytoplankton, and coral reefs. Some are perennial, others are seasonal.

Home and food to the microscopic and the enormous, the earth’s water plants may be less visible (to us) than the forests on land, but are no less majestic or important to the fabric of life on earth. The giant forests of kelp in temperate and polar waters are among the most diverse and rich ecosystems on earth, supporting enormous biomass of aquatic, arboreal, and terrestrial life.

Interestingly, the northeastern Pacific, from northern California to the Aleutian Islands of Alaska is home to the most diverse kelp forests, and right off the coast of central California, in site of the giant redwoods are the largest and tallest kelp forests in the world.